Gayle the key as Windies face Zimbabwe today

Mar 04, 2010 Sports

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Skipper wants ‘settled squad’ of players

By Sean Devers

After being given compassionate leave to be with his sick mother, West Indies Captain Chris Gayle returns for today’s opening ODI in the 5-match Digicel series against Zimbabwe at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence and he could be the key for the hosts in the 9th ODI match at Guyana’s newest cricket venue today.
Just 2 places higher than 10th placed Zimbabwe on the ICC’s ODI rankings, West Indies will want to dominate a series which began very badly for them. Affected by injuries to their senior players Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, West Indies crashed to an embarrassing 26-run defeat to Zimbabwe in the one-off 20/20 clash in Trinidad last Sunday and will be licking their wounds as they face-off with the Africans in the ODI series.
On a track expected to be slow and low with assistance for the spinners, Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul should share the new ball for the home team leaving much of the work to be done by the all-rounders and left-arm spinner Suleiman Benn.
But it is the batting that is most troubling to the home side which has lost 8 of their 36 ODIs against Zimbabwe since they first met at that level in the 1983 World Cup in England.
The team was booed in Trinidad after their upset defeat and Gayle, who missed that match, knows the rest of this series and even the short-term future of West Indies cricket could hinge on this series. Gayle said at yesterday’s press conference that his team will ‘be going hard’ at Zimbabwe and disclosed that despite the 20/20 loss the team’s confidence is good. The pugnacious Jamaican, who along with Brian Lara has the most ODI centuries by a West Indian (19), said that both teams are going through a state of re-building and although the aim of the home team is to beat Zimbabwe, said the series could be competitive since Zimbabwe have beaten stronger West Indian teams in the past. Both teams have lost their last five ODIs but the largely unexpected win in Trinidad should give the Africans plenty of confidence although Zimbabwe Skipper Prosper Utseya says his team is not over-confident.
“We know the West Indies are a good team, but once we settle down and play good cricket, we know we can be tough for any opposition on any given day.” Utseya expects Gayle to make a big difference. He said Gayle is a world class batsman adding that Zimbabwe expected him to come hard at them. This he feels will force the tourists to raise their game in a series that they have come to not only participate, but to win.
A good showing against a Test nation, even a struggling West Indies, could enhance Zimbabwe’s chances of a return to Test status and Gayle says his players have to get the 20/20 result ‘out of their system as quickly as possible.
“This is a new series and we are focused on this competition. We came here straight out of a long summer in Australia where things did not go well for us. Our bowlers have done well in patches but is it our batting, especially the top order, that is costing us,” Gayle, who has 2 tons from 15 ODIs against Zimbabwe,” stated yesterday.
Although he scored a century for Guyana last week in Grenada and practiced with the team yesterday at Providence, the WICB informed that Ramnaresh Sarwan was not selected for the first 2 matches in his homeland due to fitness reasons while exciting Trinidadian left-hander Daren Bravo was dropped after a first ball duck in the 20/20 in Trinidad.
Gayle feels the chopping and changing of the team is not in the best interest of West Indies cricket since he is of the view that the young players are not being given a fair chance to settle down and perform at this level.
“I definitely would have loved to see a settled squad and I urge the fans to come out and support us since we are just as frustrated with our performances as you. As usual, I aim to lead from the front with the bat in this series,” the belligerent Gayle said.
Gayle said his now infamous 4-1 prediction in Australia was a ‘one-off thing’ and was used to try and motivate his players against a really tough opposition. “The motivation here is to win this series and this is a perfect opportunity for the young players to step up and make life difficult for the selectors when the senior guys are fit. This is a great chance for them to put their best foot forward and the key is putting runs on the board,” Gayle stressed.
Former England Coach Otis Gibson is in charge of the Caribbean side and Gayle said his relationship with the former West Indies player is very good. He disclosed that his team is willing to make the necessary changes to start changing the fortunes of West Indies cricket.
“Gayle is an inspiration to the guys,” Gibson said yesterday. “He gives them a lift. The guys understand how they need to play in certain situations, and what we have practiced, and I must say, judging from how they look, I am impressed with the way things have been going so far in preparation for the game.” the Barbadian added.
The West Indies have lost 2 of their 3 matches at Providence including the controversial 1-run Duckworth/Lewis defeat against England last year and even though Zimbabwe could again be banking on spin, the poor early form of their batsmen and the fact they have won just 2 of the 12 games they have played in the West Indies since their inaugural tour in 2000 for the tri-nation series which also involved Pakistan, gives the hosts the psychological advantage.
Spinners Utseya, Ray Price and Graeme Cremer along with Greg Lamb and Stuart Matsikenyeri should enjoy the conditions at Guyana’s newest International cricket venue while West Indians Daren Sammy, Dwayne Smith, David Bernard and the ‘million dollar man’ Kieron Pollard could make free scoring difficult for the batsmen although the outfield is anticipated to be lightning fast and the weather steaming hot.
If Adrian Barath and Gayle could give the West Indies a good start and the dependable Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Narsingh Deonarine bats through the innings, big hitters like Pollard, Smith and Sammy could weigh in with what could be attacking cricket for what is not anticipated to be a sell-out crowd.
Like the West Indies, batting is the biggest headache for the visitors. “There is still room for improvement in terms of how we think and we need to fix our mistakes,” Utseya said. “We don’t expect an easy game, and if we do our best we will be successful. We don’t want to take West Indies lightly, and we will have to play out of our skin and remain focused for Thursday (today) and throughout the ODIs,” the Captain added.
In the stylish Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor, the experienced Keeper Tatenda Taibu, Charles Coventry who has a highest score of 194 at this level, Greg Lamb, Elton Chigumbura and Skipper Utseya, Zimbabwe has the batting talent to put pressure on the bowlers if they get ‘stuck in’ in what could turn out to be an epic battle of the minnows.

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